Bookshelf

aderton house

Kelee Katillac Wields Color and Story to Rehabilitate Historic Homes

Photos by Karen Swope and Aaron Leimkuehler A lack of imagination has never been an issue for Kelee Katillac. From the moment she saw George Washington’s Mount Vernon home at eight years old, to later learning about the hidden narratives of its slaves, she saw the overarching story of the house being told. That rainy […]

Feathers Matter author and illustrator with the book.

Finding Purpose in Pain: Author Angie Phillips Inspires Young Women to Find Self-Worth

Photos by Amber Koelling Losing a child is something no parent should ever have to experience. The pain shreds your soul, leaving a void that cannot be filled. Unfortunately for Angie Phillips, her worst nightmare became a reality when she tragically lost her 20-year-old daughter, Hallie, in November 2022. What Angie didn’t expect was to […]

Reading

Local Booksellers Give Reading Recommendations

With the arrival of winter comes the perfect time of year to snuggle up inside with a good book. And in Columbia, we’re lucky to have multiple local bookstores available where we can find a plethora of options in a wide variety of categories. We decided to ask the experts at Skylark Bookshop, Yellow Dog […]

Bookshelf072723_256368 (1)-min (1)

Local Author Dives Into the History of Disability Rights in America

Photo by L.G Patterson Sean Spence has always had a passion for writing. Though he had dreams of being a professional novelist, Spence later learned that his skills were more attuned to nonfiction work. After graduating from the University of Missouri with a bachelor’s degree in history, he first thought he would pursue a career […]

bookshelf author

Local Teacher, Author Pens Fiction Inspired By Husband’s Stroke

Photos by L.G Patterson When a loved one is suddenly hit with a medical crisis, it can upend everything. But for local author Elaine Strawn, such a crisis also helped inspire a new novel. Strawn’s latest novel, Strokewaves, was inspired by her own experience after her husband suffered a catastrophic stroke two years ago, shaking […]

Bookshelf031723_226216-min

Local Author Tackles Ancient Vietnam Legend In New Book

Photo by L.G. Patterson  Phong Nguyen has known for a long time that he wanted to tell the story of the Trung sisters. Well, at least a version of it. The story of the Trung sisters is well known in Vietnamese culture. It tells the true tale of ancient warrior sisters, Trung Trac and Trung […]

Nicole Schroeder

Local Author to Self-Publish First Book

Photo by L.G. Patterson Nicole Schroeder is not shy about describing herself as a bookworm. Surrounded by books since she could read, it’s no surprise the 24-year-old Columbia native has never had any doubt about the career she would one day pursue. “I don’t even remember when it was I first decided I wanted to be […]

The Big Tree in McBaine

A Truly Columbian Bucket List: Local Author Details 100 Things to do in New Book

If you’ve ever struggled to figure out the best things to do in Columbia on a Friday or Saturday night, there’s a new book for you. 100 Things to Do in Columbia, Missouri, Before You Die by local author Stephen Paul Sayers provides a bucket list of activities, sights and iconic traditions to explore in […]

inside columbia,columbia,como,midmo,central mo,missouri,bookshelf,author,book,Lynne Jensen Lampe,Talk Smack,reading,read

Local Author’s Debut Book Of Poetry Confronts Difficult Past

Photo By: L.G. Patterson Lynne Jensen Lampe’s debut poetry collection revolves around one topic: her relationship with her late mother. Many of us can claim complicated relationships with one or both parents, but Lampe’s experience was shaped by the medical landscape of the late 1950s and ‘60s. And her first book, Talk Smack to a […]

Alex Demczak

Local Author’s Latest Book Outlines Strategies to Achieve Goals

Photos by L.G. Patterson Alex Demczak knows firsthand the power of a really good motivational speech. While attending the University of Missouri, the former walk-on quarterback met best-selling author and speaker Jon Gordon, who was brought in to speak to the Tigers on occasion. Demczak says he connected with Gordon’s message and the two stayed […]

Banned/challenged books

Skylark Offers New Subscription to Support Freedom to Read

Photos by L.G. Patterson The freedom to read is something that’s held particularly dear at Skylark Bookshop. So when reports of banned and challenged books began to increase, staff members took note. Just last year, there were more than 700 reported book challenges in the United States, according to the American Library Association’s annual State […]

Kathleen Basi

Local Author’s Debut Novel Tells Unconventional Tale

Photos by L.G. Patterson With summer comes vacation, which for some can mean loading up the car with suitcases and snacks, and hitting the road with loved ones. Local author Kathleen Basi’s debut novel, A Song for the Road, tells the story of an unconventional cross-country road trip that becomes a journey of discovery. After all, she […]

20170421_Unbound_Book_Festival_Salman_Rushdie_013

Unbound Returns In-Person, Moves Downtown

Photos submitted Seven years ago, Alex George founded the Unbound Book Festival with the mission of bringing together readers and writers to create diverse communities, exposing participants to new ideas and authors. Since then, it has grown to become a nationally recognized literary festival, right in the heart of Missouri. Unbound brings together authors of […]

Nina Mukerjee Furstenau,Green Chilis and Other Impostors,books,bookshelf,culinary history,history,nonfiction,como,Columbia,missouri,inside columbia,Sofia Perez,Bengali,Midwest,M. F. K. Fisher Book Award,culinary writing,culinary,Indian food,India,food history,author,edible archive,culture

The Connection of Food and Culture

Photos by L.G. Patterson Growing up, Nina Mukerjee Furstenau was raised between two cultures. As a toddler, her family left India and immigrated to Chicago and then to Pittsburg, Kansas. While her parents spoke Bengali at home, Furstenau otherwise had a typical Midwest upbringing, with summers spent playing softball and going to county fairs. So […]

Alex George holds a copy of Melissa Scholes Young's book, The Hive

A Sense of Community

Just three years ago Skylark Bookshop opened its doors with a plan to do more than just sell books. Their purpose was to build community within their walls. That’s why Alex George, owner of Skylark and a novelist, started planning for a book club at the local, independent downtown bookstore back in 2020. He envisioned […]

An Autumnal Chill

Software-developer-turned-novelist Laura McHugh released her fourth mystery book this summer.

Rush of Opportunity

Photos by LG Patterson What do the University of Missouri’s president and a fiction novel about the California gold rush have in common? A writer named Gordy Sauer. As Mun Choi’s speech writer and an about-to-be-published author, Sauer believes fiction and speech writing have a lot of parallels. “Speech writing is for someone, so you […]

A Man of Mystery

Local author Kevin Doyle is living a double life. But, unlike the characters in mystery and detective novels like the ones he writes, his second identity isn’t a secret.

Birds of a Feather

John Faaborg’s love of birds took flight early on. “My brother took me birding when I was 7 years old and I was hooked for life,” he says. “The excitement of being able to identify birds was one of the first things that drew me in, then . . .

Finding Humor in Aging

JILL ORR’S NEWEST RELEASE EXAMINE INTERGENERATIONAL ALCHEMY. Jill Orr, formerly solely a mystery-genre writer, decided to step out of her comfort zone this fall and launch a new humor non-fiction gift book, How Not to Be Old (Even if You Are). Orr’s first foray into the world of humorous books explores how those across different […]